New Year’s Resolutions

Are you like most of us…did you make a New Year’s resolution? Was it to live a better life, be nicer, save more money, eat healthier, exercise more, lose weight, maintain weight loss, spend more time with your family, achieve a promotion?

Forty-five percent of Americans usually make resolutions, but Statistics show only 8% of people who make resolutions stick to them and those who don’t usually abandon them after just one week! What is your resolution is not the important question to ask. The more important question is whether or not you will keep it and if so, how you plan to do this? Did you know the statistics are very bleak for you to keep your resolution?

Unrealistic resolutions are fated to fail. It is unrealistic to think that you can immediately overcome a habit you have spent years establishing. In order to have a fighting chance of upholding your resolution, you need to have a plan. You cannot just state a resolution without a plan, road map or guide book to help you achieve your goal.

I am not writing this blog to discourage resolutions; but I do want to give you (and myself)a chance of keeping those resolutions. One of the most important things we can do is change our mindset. Instead of focusing on stopping bad habits, why don’t we try focusing on learning to do something new. Losing weight is the number one weight loss resolution of Americans. Instead of thinking about moving more and eating less, why don’t we focus on how we can make healthier choices in our every day lives?

Some important items we need to focus on initially is:

1) Do YOU really want to do this? Are you making this resolution for you or for someone else or because someone has pressured you to do so?

With regards to losing weight, when you stop to think about this, you may discover you don’t really care about losing weight. You may realize you are more interested in getting healthy or getting stronger and not necessarily losing weight. If this is the case, you need to focus on ways to do this. It may be eating less fast food, joining a gym and beginning a strengthening or toning program, eating fruits and vegetables more often, purchasing dvds for home to help obtain strength. The changes can be small and SHOULD be attainable and something YOU want to do!

2) Be accurate and reasonable about yourself.

Be honest with yourself about things that might get in your way and be willing to learn ways to make the necessary changes.

3) Be interested in what’s possible.

Once you are sure this is a change you want to make, and you know where you are starting from, get inquisitive about how you can make the necessary changes. And last but not least…

4) Be willing to stumble and fall down.

Most of us will struggle and maybe even fail when we are trying to learn or perform a new task. Be okay with imperfection and find ways to keep on trucking! You cannot go from being a novice to an expert overnight. Be aware of this from the start and know that practice makes almost perfect and no one does something exactly right the first time they try it (typically) .

Be willing to alter your resolution focus from “Here are the things I am going to stop doing or do better” to “Here are a few things I am willing to learn how to do”. Good luck with your New Year’s resolutions and I hope these tips help you achieve them by this time next year!